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Areyah Conover
... Biography Areyah is the only child of Elias Conover, the former Baron of Ridgepoint. Though raised to be the perfect court lady, Areyah rebelled against her strict upbringing and attempted to spite her parents by engaging in terribly improper social activities. The First War changed everything, however. With the burning of her home and the forced evacuation to the northern shores of Lordaeron, Areyah found herself needing to grow up. She was encouraged to seek a marriage with other displaced noblemen in the hopes of exploiting the opportunity, but she instead chose to become an officer in the new Alliance of Lordaeron's military. Areyah's naval career began aboard the Inexorable, a 28-gun frigate, where she served as one of the vessel's two master's mates. After her promotion to lieutenant, Areyah was granted command of the Typhoon, a 12-gun naval cutter. Areyah suffered a mutiny while commanding the Typhoon, when her vessel's sailing master--whom she had been sleeping with--turned a portion of the crew against her. Areyah was nearly killed, but her supporters were able to successfully fend off the mutiny. Sometime following this incident, Areyah was married to Sir James Norris. Though the marriage was arranged by their families, Areyah and James did have romantic feelings for each other. They would eventually conceive a daughter, Cathee, which forced Areyah to temporarily leave the Navy. She spent one year on leave, but returned swiftly to the Navy after Cathee's birth and left much of the child-raising to her husband and midwives. This heavily strained the relationship, especially since Areyah frequently avoided home even when she was staying in port. Several years of this went by, before James discovered that Areyah had been sleeping with other men; at this point he demanded a divorce and compensation. After a series of negotiations, Areyah agreed to have the letter A branded on the back of her right hand and to let James keep Cathee in exchange for having most of her dowry returned to House Conover. Areyah completely devoted her life to the Navy after this incident. She refused all further marriage offers (though there were few), and never once visited James or Cathee. Her excellent military service during this time helped to somewhat mend her relations with her House, though she remains estranged. Her only real supporter is her cousin, Anderyn Conover III, who granted Areyah the ceremonial title of Marshal of the Militia of Ridgepoint as a gesture of support. Areyah's final military posting was as the commander of a division of frigates under Admiral Taylor, at the rank of commodore. As such, she was one of the first humans to sep foot on Pandaria when the mists parted, and she played a center role in establishing a military presence on the continent. During this time she formed the 157th "Wild Tempest" Company, a multiracial marine company that had Suon Heavenblaze--one of the first pandaren NCOs trained during Taylor's local recruitment drive--as the leader of one of its squads. In recent months, Areyah has left the military in order to pursue politics. She now serves as Stormwind's Minister of Defense, where she has taken a mostly uncompromising stance that frequently puts her at odds with her fellow councilors. Not-the-least of which was Braiden Mistmantle, whom Areyah has launched an investigation against after receiving evidence of him being involved with cultist and criminal activities. With her ambition and drive, and initial strong support from both the Stormwind and Ironforge armed forces, Areyah seemed poised to assume a great deal of power. However, she greatly over-extended herself, even taking over the Ministry of Justice during Braiden's absence, and has eroded much of the early support she once possessed. Her "brute force" entrance onto the political arena could threaten to end her career before it truly begins. Physical appearance Areyah bears the appearance of a woman that has been greatly weathered over the years. She is scarred from many battles, and her normally-dark hair is already graying. Hard stress lines have begun to form over her stern features, and her skin, normally tanned from a lifetime at sea, has begun to pale as well. Her green eyes are often bloodshot as a result of too little sleep. Despite this, Areyah remains imposing for a human--she reaches almost 1.9 meters tall, and is quite fit and muscular. Areyah's stature prompted a pandaren to remark that she would be able to throw Gilran Steelfist across a hall, while he was wearing his plate armor. However, in recent months she has started to grow more thin, as her growing depression is causing her to become less and less motivated to maintain her physique. Though most view her as a soldier rather than an aristocrat in light of her tough exterior, Areyah actually does pay a great deal of attention to her womanly image. She was raised in a noble House and trained in schools of manner and etiquette, and continues to apply those teachings in her life. She was very attractive in her youth, and even in her later years dresses herself according to her high birth. She regularly appears at formal proceedings in full gown, complete with corset to emphasize her impressive figure, along with makeup, perfume, and exquisitely-styled hair (often dyed to hide her graying mane). This difference between stern, imposing soldier and noble flower can occasionally be offputting. Some of Areyah's peers find it even comical to watch the tall, aging and scarred veteran wearing a ballgown and taking delicate sips from a tea cup while discussing men and the latest fashions with other noblewomen. Personality and traits Areyah is abrasive, strict, calculating, and ruthless. She has narcissistic personality disorder and, like many in House Conover, views everything around her as something she could and should control. She has high expectations and a low tolerance for failure, and often becomes very critical of others when she is forced to take a backseat and watch them lead. Despite regularly advocating the delegation of responsibility, Areyah prefers to micromanage everything herself. While she does, begrudgingly, follow the orders of her superiors even when she doesn't agree with them, she opportunistically looks for ways to bend the rules to her own benefit, and may even strike out on her own behind her superior's back if she believes can get away with it. She ambitiously conspires against her superiors, always looking for ways to undermine them and force them out of the way of her ascent to greater power. Because of her attention to position and authority, Areyah is a stickler for rules, systems, and hierarchies. She advocates the importance of bureaucracy and structure, and firmly believes that the best form of government would be a stratocracy, with the military (and more importantly, its hierarchical system) running both the war and the civilian sector. She sees it as the duty of every citizen to fight for their nation, and has very little respect for those who hide behind soldiers or shift their loyalties at the drop of a hat (such as mercenaries). Overall, Areyah's behavior and beliefs make her appear very rigid to the people under her, and whatever respect one might have for her abilities and dedication is quickly overridden by derision for her meddling in their affairs and demanding they bow to unnecessary restrictions. Though Areyah has a very dim view of most people other than herself as a result of her severe narcissism, she still strives to do what is right for them. She believes that it is her duty, and the duty of any soldier, to fight and die for the charges under their care. She has even advocated the implementation of laws of war between both the Alliance and the Horde, in order to minimize non-combatant casualties on both sides. This has dimmed opinion of her, as many in the Alliance have come to demonize the Horde as a whole following the incidents at Wrathgate, Theramore, Gilneas, and Southshore. For her part, Areyah got over her hatred a long time ago (or at least, has buried it deep inside) and instead simply focuses on minimizing the damage the war can cause instead of seeking vengeance. As Areyah very rarely relaxes from the inflexible ideals she holds herself to (an ideal that she believes everyone else should have), she rarely makes friends. Even those few who do get close to her are inevitably pushed away, as happened when she allowed her work to take priority over her husband and daughter. It is for this reason that Areyah spends much of her time drinking and carousing around bars and brothels--she is continually trying to fill the gap in her heart with some form of company, even if it is for only one night. Overall, Areyah has a very self-destructive personality, leaving her constantly stressed, lonely, and empty. She regularly misses sleep as a result of trying to do too much, and only manages to temporarily hold off her depression through alcohol and sex. Powers and abilities ... Relationships Family ... Behind the scenes ... External links ... Category:Alliance Category:Alliance Characters Category:Females Category:Warriors Category:Hunters Category:Characters